According to researchers, the ability to begin treating patients within an hour could revolutionise stroke care globally.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Current treatment for stroke is fairly limited and patients are dying or suffering life-changing disabilities as a result.

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Survival rate: The new patch doubled survival chances

"This trial uses a simple patch that can be applied rapidly by paramedics as soon as they reach the patient.

“If successful, this could revolutionise treatment for stroke patients across the UK and potentially globally and could be a huge step forward in the advancement of stroke treatment which currently lags behind heart attack treatment.”

An initial trial of the patch showed it halved the stroke death rate from 38 per cent to 16 per cent.

There are over 100,000 strokes each year, which cost the UK’s healthcare system roughly £2 billion.

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Stroke mortality: It's the fourth biggest single cause of death in the UK

It also kills around 40,000 people each year, making it one of the leading causes of death.

Professor Philip Bath, a British Heart Foundation researcher from University of Nottingham, said: “We believe that by improving blood flow in the brain in stroke patients we can dramatically improve their survival chances and recovery.

“This patch enables us to do this within minutes and early trials have been very promising.”

Such is the promise the British Heart Foundation has provided funding for researchers at the University of Nottingham to work with ambulance services to trial the patch on stroke patients and monitor their recovery over a year.